Project Freelancer: The Untold Chapters
by Agent Mississippi
Summary: The director never trusted me. One day he-strangely-intrusted me with a special AI responsibility that he refused to talk about. But I am determined to know just what this voice in my head is. There's just one thing I don't know: Who is Allison?
1. Arrivals and Introductions

**Red vs Blue belongs to Rooster Teeth, not me. But if it DID belong to me, York and Carolina would be dating by the 9th season and York wouldn't have died, but I think RT would do a much better job than I would...**

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><p>I walked nervously up and down the passenger area of the D77C-NMPD Pelican that I was flying in, along with two boys, one about my age, and one a couple of years younger than me. The younger one-David, I think-was talking to the pilot, asking tons of questions about the plane, and such. He was very curious, and very friendly. He had black hair and very dark eyes, and he looked about seventeen. The other one, a boy with sandy blonde hair and tan skin, appeared to be sleeping, and I thought he was, until he told me: "Calm down, kid. If you keep pacing like that, you're gonna get thrown out of the dropship."<p>

_"Kid? Who does this guy think I am?"_

"Who're you calling kid? I'm nineteen!"

He chuckled. "Okay, calm down. You're just really short, that's all!"

This guy sure how to get on someones nerves, because I was furious!

"Now look here-"

"Hey! What's going on back there?" The pilot called from her seat in the cockpit. "I don't want any fights back there! If one of you throws the other off of this plane, the director will get pissed, and you both can kiss your military training goodbye!"

We froze in shock and glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing: _Is she serious?_

Not wanting to take any chances, we sat down and began to talk.

"So, what's your name kid?"

"Hasn't it been previously established that you should STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

"Hey, the sooner I learn your name, the sooner I'll stop."

"Fine. It's Mississippi. Agent Mississippi."

"I didn't ask you for your new codename, did I? I asked for your name."

"I can't tell you."

"Why not? We're friends! I think..."

"No, that's not it. It's just-" I trailed off and thought for a moment before continuing.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Hey." David interrupted from his casual position of leaning against the wall. "I know we're not supposed to use our real names anymore, but you can trust us! Well, you can trust me, anyway. My name's David, or I guess Washington now, but you might already know that. Nice hair, by the way." He smirked, and gestured to the blue mess of tangles on my head.

"Alright. You win David- err, **Wash**." I sighed. I was convinced. "I-I can't remember. I can't remember my name."

"What?" They both shouted in disbelief. I nodded.

"The only ones that knew my name were my parents. When I was a baby, they died in this bloody Covenant war, and I was left in an orphanage. The people there were cruel, and didn't treat me with as much respect as the other children, and didn't let me eat dinner because, well, I guess you could say I was more rebellious than the average kid. They were still really mean, but my temper didn't help the matter. When they started to beat me, I knew I had to get as far away from them as possible. One night, I managed to escape and stow away on a supply ship heading to Arcadia, and stole anything I could possibly need over a long period of time. I made my home in an unexplored forest on the isolated side of the planet, and made sure to cover my tracks. No one found me, but some knew what I looked like, so when I figured that I should get a job, I had to change my appearance completely. I dyed my hair blue and grew it out down below my waist. Luckily, no one recognized me when I entered Pith City, the capital of the planet. I decided to join the army when I was sixteen. There were laws against it, but they were getting desperate, and I had my fair share of experience from the orphanage and living in the wilderness. Only a year after I had joined the army I had learned that Arcadia had been nearly destroyed by the Covenant. In my determination to make those bastards pay, I quickly moved up through the ranks. I was the best damn stealth soldier in my unit. My sergeant thought so too! Wasn't much of a fighter, though. I decided to join project Freelancer, I wanted to find out how to get those damn Covenant gone as soon as possible. I'm not sure if I have what it takes to help, but I want to try. " I finished my story and glanced at the boys. Both were wide eyed, and the blonde one's jaw just about hit the floor. I heard the pilot whistle in admiration from the front of the pelican.

"That was an amazing story, kid! I think you'll do fine!" She chuckled and went back to her flying. I lowered my head and began to think about my mother and father. The boys noticed this, and Wash put a hand on my shoulder.

"Y'know, we could always make you a new one!" He smiled and the other boy nudged me playfully.

"Yeah! How does Missy sound? It's like Mississippi abbreviated!"

"Hmm… I like it!" I replied with enthusiasm.

"And I never learned **your **name !" I pointed dramatically at the blonde with a grin and he laughed.

"You can call me Maine."

I frowned.

"I suppose that's all I'm gonna get out of you, huh?" I asked.

"Yep." He replied smugly.

"Of course."

After a couple of hours, we eventually got bored of messing around in the passenger seats, and decided to play a game: the first one to the front of the cockpit without getting spotted by the pilot won. I had a feeling that we were going to become good friends.

I slowly moved from the back of the pelican, followed closely by Wash and Maine. I silently signaled for us to spread out, and luckily they complied without any confusion. Wash went behind the frame of the doorway, the easiest and most obvious space, Maine was much more daring, and quietly sprinted to the doorway, ducked inside, and the pilot turned around immediately. He had lost. As for me, I tied my long hair in to a bun, stepped on to one of the seats, and hoisted myself up to one of the bars on the ceiling. I stayed there, upside-down with my legs hooked around the bars, surveying the area. I had a plan. I grabbed another bar with my hands and unhooked my legs, then swung my legs to the next bar and hung upside-down. I continued like this until there were no bars left, then on the last one, hung by only my ankles. My shirt fell down a bit and Maine wolf whistled. I glared at him, grabbed the bars with my hands, lowered my legs, and in a split second, my foot connected with his face and sent him sprawling to the ground. The pilot whipped her head around in confusion.

"What the **hell** is going on back there?" We were quite a sight, with only my chest and down visible, hanging from the ceiling with my shirt pulled up a bit, Maine laying on the floor with a bloody nose, and Wash looking quite suspicious as he tried to reach the cockpit in all of the confusion. We all glanced at each other for a short time, then burst out laughing. My grip loosened as I laughed, and I fell directly on top of Maine, who had just recovered from me kicking him in the face. I giggled and he groaned when I landed face first on to his chest. The pilot rolled her eyes and sent a transmission Dr. Leonard Church, the director of Project Freelancer.

"Sir? I'm bringing the new recruits in for a landing."

"_Thank you, Four Seven Niner."_

"And be careful with these ones, sir."

_"Yes, yes, of course-wait. What?"_

"Coming in for a landing."

_"Very well, Four Seven."_

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><p>We docked at Mother of Invention, (the ship where project Freelancer was located) and stepped out of the dropship. We were immediately greeted by an artificial sounding voice.<p>

"Greetings, new freelancer agents. _I am the __**F**__reelancer __**I**__ntegrated __**L**__ogistics and __**S**__ecurity __**S**__ystem. You may call me F.I.L.S.S."_

"Uh, okay…. I'm Agent Mississippi."

_"Yes. I know."_

"Well do you know-"

_"Agents Maine and Washington? Yes. Soon agents York, Carolina, and Connecticut will arrive too, but that will not be for a couple of months."_

"Thank… you…?"

_"You are welcome. You should probably be heading on now. The Director is waiting on the bridge."_

"Okay, which way is the bridge?"

_"It is down the hallway, to the left, and up the stairs. And do you mind if I ask why you have bright cerulean hair that is past regulation length? The director will not like that." _

"Um… bye Filss! Gotta run! C'mon, guys!" I grabbed Maine and Wash by their wrists and ran down the hall, to the left, and up the stairs, just like FILSS said. We were all nervous, so they followed willingly. At the top of the last staircase, I saw a man with glasses and black hair, with his hands folded behind his back. The director of project Freelancer. I skidded to a halt as he turned around and Wash and Maine collided in to me because of my abrupt stop. Albeit dazed, but still experienced with military training, I clumsily snapped in to a salute, and the boys followed my example.

"At ease, recruits." The director announced.

"You are agents Maine, Mississippi, and Washington, correct?"

"Yes sir!" We said in unison.

"From now on, you will be known as your code names, and you are not to tell anyone your real names. We will have a ranking system here at Project Freelancer, and you will be ranked on speed, stealth, strength, and overall performance, among other things. You will be given advanced assault armor codenamed MJOLNIR. These suits will improve strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and durability in combat situations. They are fully equipped with energy shields, numerous spaces for ammunition, weapons, and other materials, HUDs that can be used to detect weapons and devices, monitor shield strength and health, count ammunition, target reticules, create waypoints during missions and training, along with other data. The suits also come with a slot for a compact AI, but that will be discussed when the other recruits arrive. Any questions?"

We remained silent and he continued.

"I will not tolerate any uprising. Any unruly behavior," He turned, walked towards me, and lowered his eyes.

"And you will be dismissed from the program. Are we clear?"

I gulped

"Yes sir."

"Very well, you are dismissed. Please change in to the suits left in your rooms as soon as convenient, and you will be called on to the training floor tomorrow at 1800 hours."

We began to file out, but the director beckoned me back to the bridge.

"Agent Mississippi, I expect you to do something about your hair, or it will be taken care of for you."

I nodded.

"Is that all, sir?"

"Yes. You may go now."

I saluted again and jogged out to meet up with Wash and Maine.

"What was that all about?" Maine asked.

"Just some shit about my hair. I mumbled in reply.

"I think the director hates me.

"Because of your hair? That's messed up. C'mon Missy! Race you to our rooms!"

Uh, Maine, I think the rooms are separated by gender. Mine is on the other side of the ship."

"Oh." He frowned.

"You seem disappointed." I observed suspiciously.

"Uh… why would you say that?"

"Because you just sighed and frowned when I-"

"Total coincidence! Uh, got to go! See you in training, Missy!" And with that, he dragged a very confused Wash down the corridor and in to their shared room.

_Huh. That was weird. _I thought as I wandered across the ship to my room.

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><p><em>What the fuck just happened? <em>Wash thought simultaneously as Maine pulled him down the hallway.

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><p><em>That was stupid and unnecessary of you. <em>Maine mentally chided himself as he came to the door that he and Wash were staying in, still gripping the other boy's forearm tightly.

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><p>When I got to my room, I found that it was surprisingly luxurious, compared to the dumb cots that you had to sleep in in the regular military, and in my makeshift home on Arcadia, I didn't even have a bed, or a room to myself! In this room, there was a medium-sized bathroom connected to it, a bunk bed, and two large closets. The one marked: <em>Agent Mississippi<em> had two suits of armor, both white with red highlights, a standard issue combat knife, an M6D pistol, a shotgun, a thin black suit of armor to go under the MJOLNIR suits, about a dozen shirts with the same colors, and a couple pairs of jeans. It also contained a datapad that read:

_"Dear Freelancer Agent 002, _

_Welcome to Project Freelancer. You will soon have to share this room with a second agent, codenamed Connecticut. She will be arriving in a month, so please settle in, but make room for her. You may put your things in this closet and sleep on the top bunk. Please do not go in to Conneticut's closet before or after she arrives. Remember that there is a training session at 1800 hours tomorrow, and have a nice day._

_-F.I.L.S.S. (__The Freelancer Integrated Logistics and Security System)_

I rolled my eyes at her ability to make even a note sound exceedingly robotic and began to change in to the skintight bodysuit, grabbed the pistol, and went to see what the boys were up to. When I got to their room, I knocked on the door.

"Hey guys, you ready yet? We have a day to burn, so I figured we could check out the-" I heard crashing, and in an instant, Wash and Maine came stumbling out of their room clumsily. I looked over Wash's shoulder in to their room. It was in complete disarray, and I had only been gone for half an hour.

"Wow, you guys really screwed this place up. Why? Also how?"

"Oh, um, we were looking for video games." Maine admitted sheepishly.

"Uh, they're probably in the rec room…." I stated.

"I thought everyone knew that."

"Yeah, everyone who has military training!" Wash scoffed at me.

"He has a point Miss-" Maine took a moment to actually look at me, and his face flushed.

"Uh, M-missy? Where, uh, where did you find that?" He stuttered.

_Wow. This thing is more skintight than I thought._

"It was in my closet…"

"Oh. Do you-uh, **we** have to wear armor over that? Like, ever?"

"Just come on." I sighed, rolled my eyes and I turned around, accidentally giving the boys an eyeful of my rear end. Maine's face reddened even more, and Wash snickered at him, but they both followed quickly and we sprinted all the way across the ship, knocking over supply shelves and running in to crew members along the way. We caused a lot of mayhem that day, almost as much as we did the next. It was the first day of training, and I don't think any of us knew were very prepared….

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><p><strong>Wow. My third RvB story! Woot Woot! And I know what you might be thinking, people who saw my drawings of Mississippi: "WTF, isn't she supposed to have BLONDE hair?" Well, to those smart people, you will find out soon enough…<strong>

**Feel free to leave a review with any complements, questions, or even criticisms! **

**Thank's for reading!**

**-SSBB Gamer**


	2. Training

**Wow. Second chapter came sooner than I expected! It might be awhile until the next one, though. Just a hint for it: it's gonna be funny. I hope. Well, I guess there's nothing more to say but…**

_**Enjoy! And have a very happy New Year!**_

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><p>After tearing up the <em>Mother of Invention<em> yesterday, I didn't think that we could get in anymore trouble than we did, but I was **dead wrong**. Today was the day that we had our first training session, and I was nervous as **hell**. I think the boys were just as nervous. Well Wash probably was, but I really think that Maine just wanted to see me in my black suit again. Perv. As I changed in to my first layer of armor, I decided that I would put my thick layer on later to move faster and easier. Also I wanted to mess with Maine's head. I would get a good laugh out of Wash, too. It was a win-win! Also slight humiliation on Maine's side, but he still got to see me in the armor, so we all benefited from it! When I arrived at their room, I found that they **were** just as nervous as I was. Wash was pacing nervously back and forth, already in his black and yellow armor, and Maine barely even noticed that I was even in my bodysuit.

"Hey Missy. What's up?" He asked when he saw me, his cheeks slightly tinged with pink.

"The sky, moron." I replied snarkily.

"Woah! Looks like somebody's nervous!"

"Yeah, besides you guys?"

"Yep. **You**."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Now come on! We're gonna be late!"

"But we have two hours!" Wash complained as he paced back and forth

"Well we can start to practice early! Grab your weapons! Lets go!"

"But-"

"Stop bitching, grab your damn rifle, and follow me to the training floor! This is a **very** advanced operation, and you do **not** want to get on the director's bad side. Now **come. On.**"

I grabbed Wash and Maine, led them to the training floor, ran back to my room, changed in to my armor, and sprinted back to the boys. Once I had made it back, we had an hour of practice. I knew that I needed to get on the Director's good side, but I was hesitant about dying my hair back to it's natural color and cutting it. I really did not want to do that.

"Hurry, Guys!" I grabbed three paint pistols and tossed two to the boys.

_Damn. These things are __**kickass**__! Much better than any of the crap in the regular military! _I thought in amazement as I turned the gun over in my hand.

"Okay men! Check that there's paint in your pistols! I don't want anyone getting shot with live rounds!" I shouted in a commanding manner from across the arena, years of military training taking over.

"Uh, Wash?" Maine whispered in to his new friend's ear.

"Yeah, Maine?"

"What the hell happened to the Mississippi we met yesterday?"

Wash chuckled.

"Just go along with it. I have a feeling we're gonna need someone with more military training in situations like this."

Maine nodded and we all checked our guns. I opened my mouth to give more instructions when FILSS turned on.

_"Agent Mississippi, what are you doing?"_

"Practicing, FILSS."

_"New recruits do not have the authority to start a practice session or hand out any sort of firearm, Agent Mississippi."_

I groaned.

"Okay guys, pack up before the Director gets here!"

_"That will not be necessary, Agents."_

"Why not, FILSS?" I asked, very confused with all of this.

_"Because the director has already arrived." _She stated mechanically.

"Well, shit." I muttered under my breath as the Director strode in to the large room, with his councilor in tow. Once he saw us holding pistols and fully armored, he glared and swiftly walked to the entrance of the training room.

"You recruits are completely out of control." He scolded furiously, but surprisingly calmly and snatched the pistol out of my hand.

"You are not to handle materials unless authorized to! All of you need to straighten out, or you can consider yourselves expelled from the program. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir!" We all said in unison and saluted.

"Now, you will be proceeding with your scheduled training. First, hand to hand combat. FILSS will fill you in on anymore details. Dismissed."

He walked out of the door and up to the observation room, still being followed by the councilor.

_"Alright, Agent Mississippi, your file says that you are the most experienced, so you will square off against Agents Washington and Maine. Beginning hand to hand combat. Round one in five,"_

I backed up a few steps.

"_Four,"_

We all raised our fists.

_"Three,"_

I scanned the area.

_"Two,"_

Maine put his foot back and prepared to come at me.

_"One. Round begin."_

Wash began to whisper instructions to Maine.

"Okay, you flank left, and I'll go-" Suddenly Maine ran up and tried to jump on to me. I dodged, blocked his incoming punch, grabbed his arm, and flipped him over, immobilizing him for a moment. I held him to the ground with my foot and shook my head teasingly.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Very unprofessional of you, Agent Maine. Don't you know the standard military tactics of hand-to-hand combat?"

"No!"

I slammed my fist down on to his visor, giving me enough time to elbow Wash in the chest and kick him to the other side of the arena.

_"Round one over. Point awarded to: Mississippi. The current score is: Mississippi: one, Team A: zero. Round two in five, four, three, two, one. Round begin."_

They came at me again, this time with much more construction and accuracy. Wash ran up to me and punched me in the stomach. I countered the blow by giving him an uppercut and kicking him in the back. He recovered quickly, and knocked my legs out from under me. I flipped over, blocked his incoming punch, and used his body as leverage as I flipped over him and knocked him to the ground. I finally pinned him down, and a thought entered my mind.

_Where's Maine? Oh-_

I was unable to continue my train of thought, as Maine grabbed my arm, spun me around, and threw me to the ground. He jumped on me and pounded me in the face with his armored fist. FILSS's robotic voice announced that Team A was the winner, and we began the next round. I quickly won this round by jumping up, kicking Maine, and punching Wash as hard as I could at the same time. They both fell to the were pretty evenly matched. After that round, the director emerged from the observation room and called us to the door.

"Well done, recruits. The information I have gathered will go towards what AI and enhancement type you will receive. You will come here tomorrow at the same time, and begin another training session, this time with pistols and paint rounds. They will be handed out **to **you. Not **by** you. Dismissed."

We changed out of our armor, filed out of the room and strolled down the hall.

"That was pretty cool! Huh, guys?" I asked enthusiastically.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Wash mumbled, and Maine just stayed quiet.

"Come on! Yes, the Director was pretty serious about the whole termination thing, but you don't have to be all quiet and emotionless!"

They turned and looked at me, and Maine began to speak in an annoyed manner.

"Missy, you don't understand! I-"

_**"Security breach, protocol Gamma. Unauthorized UNSC ship inbound. All agents report to the director for further-"**_

"Calm down, FILSS." The director walked up to her terminal and interrupted her calmly as we all looked around in confusion.

"I simply forgot to authorize the pilot, he is on his way with another recruit."

We all stared at him, completely baffled. Even the councilor was having trouble wrapping his mind around that concept.

"Director, there doesn't appear to be any record of a request for this pilot or recruit verification, but-"

"Shut up, councilor."

"Yes sir."

We watched the exchange with wide eyes. The director sure didn't treat his councilor as such.

"As I was saying, this is a very special agent. He has a package that is vital to the progression of the program. I want you recruits to see to it that he finds his room and receives the proper instructions from FILSS. Make sure that she does not try to lock his armor or something." And with that, he turned around and began to walk up the stairs to the bridge, and the councilor followed almost unwillingly.

I ran to the docking bay to see what exactly was so important about this agent and his package. The pelican was just landing when I darted through the door to it's location. A fairly tall agent, already armored in a dark green suit, stumbled out of the dropship, tripped on a wire, and tumbled to the ground, his helmet coming off and following him to the metal floor. He looked a bit younger than Wash, had greenish-blue eyes, dirty blonde hair, and an amusingly surprised expression on his face from his fall. I smirked, knelt to his level and held out my hand.

"Rough ride, buddy?"

He laughed and nodded, pulling himself up.

"Thanks. I don't have the best eyesight, so…."

"Ah."

"I'm Colorado, by the way."

"Oh, I'm Mississippi, but you can call me-"

Just then, Wash and Maine came running up to me and the new agent.

"You guys had some trouble catching up with me, huh?" I asked smugly.

"Just shut up." Wash panted while he and Maine tried to catch their breaths.

"Who's the rookie?" Maine asked after they had recovered.

"Maine! We've only been here for a day! We're new too! Make the kid feel welcome!" I scolded him in a slightly overbearing tone.

He rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Yes mother."

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><p>Despite this introduction, we actually became friends. The Director never did tell us what Colorado had brought. Even he didn't know! We eventually forgot as the days passed, and the time soon came for the other recruits to arrive. We were all much more experienced after that month passed, and September swiftly turned in to November. My birthday was actually on the day after the recruits arrived, so it wouldn't just be Wash, Maine, and Colorado, if the director even allowed us to have parties. The day came, and all four of us marched in to the docking bay in a neat line and fully armored. Minutes later, a pelican flew through the opened shield doors and two girls and on boy stepped off of the plane. The boy had short, light brown hair, grey-blue eyes, and appeared to have a very relaxed and calm quality about him. One of the girls had very short, dark brown hair and brown eyes. She did <strong>not <strong>look pleased to be here. I saw Wash stare at her in admiration and slight awe.

_Interesting._

The last one was simply curious. Her big turquoise eyes roamed the area, and her long, bright red hair was tied back in to a ponytail. The trio strolled up to the Director and looked around nervously. I signaled for them to salute, and they followed my example awkwardly.

"At ease, recruits. Follow me to the bridge for your directives, then make your way to your rooms. FILSS, the ship's AI, will give you further instructions."

They all trailed behind him through the door, and Wash, Meta Colorado, and I all went to change out of our outer armor and left for the rec room. We played video games for about an hour, then got bored and went to our rooms. The dark haired girl was sitting in mine when I got back. She looked quite bored as she rested on… a small couch?

"Where'd the sofa come from?" I asked and broke the silence.

"Huh?" She looked up at me suddenly as she seemed stirred from her sleep, though she was awake before.

"Oh. The Director said that now that some necessary renovations were made to make us feel more at home." She responded after being shaken out of her haze.

"Oh. Did he just give us couches?"

"Nah. He also gave the boys video games or some shit."

"Oh, well… if you'll excuse me… I''m gonna go….." I trailed off and rushed to the boy's room. When I arrived, not one, or two, but three boys were crowded around an impressively big flatscreen TV and holding six controllers. Lucky bastards. I glared at them until they turned around. First Wash saw me and laughed, which caused Maine to turn around too. He quickly joined Wash's laughing, and the last turned around in confusion he third boy was the new recruit I had seen earlier.

"Uh, what's with her?" The recruit questioned nervously.

"Oh t-that's Missy! She's just jealous!" Maine said between fits of laughter. I crossed my arms, glowered at them, and turned towards York.

"Hi, I'm Mississippi, but you can call me Missy, or Miss."

"Nice to meet you Miss! My name's York. Well, now it is."

After we had introduced each other, I could see what kind of games they had.

"So, whatcha got?"

"Oh, we don't actually have any games yet. Just a console, a TV, and some remotes."

"Lame. How did the Director even move all of this shit in to our rooms in the hour that we were in the rec room?"

"He only did two rooms."

"Oh. I'm gonna go back to my roommate now. That couch better have a TV in front of it by the time I get back." I muttered and wandered back to my room. The girl was still sitting on the couch looking very relaxed. When I walked through the door, she looked up at me amusedly.

"How was the recon mission?"

"Meh. They only had a TV, and I couldn't just take it without being noticed. Plus the Director would be pretty fucking pissed."

"Yeah, what's with him, anyways? He seems kind of suspicious. I don't trust him."

"Well, me neither, but I really don't have anywhere else to go. I'm an orphan."

"Really? My parents made me go here. The first opportunity they got to ditch me, they took. And they seemed pretty damn happy about it. Let's just say I was a very unwanted mistake."

"Oh, god! That's terrible!"

"Don't feel bad for me, it's just a waste of time. I'm not perfect, in fact I'm pretty damn flawed, and everyone seems to agree, but life is life, and I'm not dead yet, so I might as well make the best of what I've got, no matter how hard it is."

"Hey! That's not true! I'm sure not many people feel that way about you! Wash seemed to have an eye for you."

"Who's Wash? The really tall one? because I'm pretty sure he was just staring at your-"

"No! The dark haired one! He seemed pretty crazy about you"

She blushed and covered her face.

"Really?"

"Yep." I smirked. This would be a very interesting couple of weeks.

"So, what's your, uh, codename?" I asked, changing to something less awkward.

"Connecticut. Yours?"

"Mississippi."

"Well, nice to meet you Mississippi."

She held out her hand and I smiled.

"Nice to meet you too."

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><p><strong>Finally. This chapter was actually supposed to be done a couple of days ago, but I got writers block. Updates will probably come more irregularly after today, so sorry, but I've beenwill be really busy. Please leave a review with any questions or whatever. Happy 2012 everyone**


	3. The Party

**Wow. That was faster than I expected. **_**The party part of this chapter was inspired by CaptainFriedaTimber on deviantART! (**_.com/**) **_**She is awesome! And this is the art that part of this story's dialogue has in it: **_.com/gallery/27622657#/d4k1tkg. **Well, enjoy!**

As more time passed, I had made friends with all of the new freelancers, though I had a bit of a competitive thing going with Carolina, the bright red haired one. She always beat me, but I was never jealous. She quickly became the directors favorite, but we always made a joke out of it, though she took it pretty seriously. Every day I would play games with York, Wash, Colorado, and Maine. York's calm attitude constantly balanced out my occasional, uh, **extremely** spirited attitude. I suppose I knew and befriended Connie more than any of the recruits, since she was my roommate. Colorado was just sort of… there. He was barely in any training session, and he never used any type of firearm, because of his bad eyesight. Though Wash, Maine, and I were inseparable. My birthday had passed quickly, thought we didn't really have a party or anything, and it had become December. Two twins came to the project, named North and South Dakota. North seemed really nice, but his sister South was a complete bitch. I tried to avoid them, but as the holidays neared, that became fairly unavoidable. On Christmas eve, I got quite a present, but I didn't know who it was from. That was the problem.

I had been taking a normal shower on a normal day with my normal towel and my normal shampoo. Everything was normal, or so I thought. I rinsed out my hair, put on a towel, and brushed through my wet blue-

_Wait a second._

I looked in the mirror and screamed. My hair was blonde. **Again.** Connecticut burst in to the bathroom in panic.

"What? What's wrong?" She said in alarm and looked at me for a few minutes. Then started to laugh.

"Y-your hair is-" She paused and burst in to giggles, unable to finish her sentence.

"Blonde. Yes, I know." I ended for her and glared.

"Did you do this?"

"N-no!" Connie managed to squeak out while practically rolling on the floor.

"But I t-think I know w-who did!"

"Maine and Wash." I stated menacingly, and with that, I stomped out of the room, dripping water from my ruined hair and unaware that I was still clutching the towel around my small body. I rounded a corner and saw no one. They were all at a staff party for some reason. Except for the pilots, of course. I arrived at York, Wash, and Maine's room and flung the door open in outrage. Those three idiots were crowded around their TV playing games they got from the rec room.

"**OKAY! WHAT DID YOU MORONS DO TO MY-**"

I froze. Maine accidentally dropped his controller in surprise at my sudden outburst and turned around. He wasn't wearing a shirt.

_**Wow.**_

"Missy, whatever it is, I swear I didn't-" He stopped short much like I did and just stared at me with his eyebrows raised and his jaw dropped. Then it hit me. I only had on a towel. My face turned red, then purple, and I ran back to my room as fast as I could. Once I was gone, Wash turned to Maine.

"Did York and I miss something?"

Maine just stood rigid, staring at the place I had been. Wash waved his hand in front of Maine's face.

"Uh, Maine...?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, what?" He was shaken out of his trance and turned around.

"What just happened?"

"Uh… Missy just walked in… with only a towel on… And…" His puzzled voice dwindled and Wash and York gaped at him in astonishment.

"**WHAT?**"

After about a minute of running through a giant ship with a flushed face and only a towel on, I got to my room and slammed the door shut behind me. Connecticut was still chuckling to herself, along with Carolina, who had evidently come in to our room, and when they saw me, they began to howl with laughter again.

"So you realized you didn't have any clothes on, huh?" Connecticut asked smugly when she had finished.

"Thank's so much for stating the obvious." I hissed, grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt, and stormed in to the bathroom.

"Did anyone see you?" Carolina called from the other room

"The director, staff, and Councilor are all at a party." Came my muffled reply.

"That's not who I'm talking about…." She teased.

"Shut up."

"Did the boys see you?"

"Shut up. And yes. Not all of 'em, though." I muttered.

"Anyone in particular?"

"Shut up."

"Like Maine…." She said in a singsong voice.

"Shut up."

"Come **on** Missy! You have to give us a hint!"

"Not now, 'Lina."

"Aww, You take the fun out of everything." She grumbled. We were all silent for a moment, then I came out of the bathroom, hair dried and still dyed an awful shade of yellow. Carolina opened her mouth with a devious smile pasted on to her face.

"No." Came my reply, before she had said anything.

"Oh, come on! I was just going to ask if you guys knew what you were going to wear for the holiday party!" Connecticut and I looked at her.

"**WHAT PARTY?**"

"Oh yeah. I was supposed to tell you guys yesterday that we were having a party today in an hour. I guess I sorta forgot…. Should I have told you that earlier?"

"Yes. You should've told us earlier." I said through gritted teeth.

"But we can stay up past curfew! Oh, and you need to pick out a black, white, or grey dress."

"But I don't have any dresses!" Connie

"What's that, then?" She pointed at my open closet to two dresses. One was a low cut, very short, and surprisingly plain, though it flared a bit at the bottom. The other was very ruffled, and it had a white bow around the waist. Although not as short as the other one, it was also low cut, strapless, and way too fancy and puffy for my liking. Not the best options.

"Uh, Carolina?"

"Yep?"

"Who picked out these dresses?"

"I did." She grinned devilishly.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. The Director said that I was the girl that knew you guys the best, so I got to pick them out. And York picked out the guys outfits!"

"Really?"

"**Yes. Really.**"

"So there's no way I could, uh, get another dress?"

"Nope."

"Then where did you get these?"

"The director authorized a shipment of dress clothes for us to wear for parties and such. I picked out one casual one, and one fancy one. This party is of course formal, so you will be wearing your fancy dress." She smiled coyly and gestured to the long one. I glared.

While we had our exchange, Connie was staring in her closet in disbelief.

"There is **no way** anyone is getting me to wear this!" She held up a **very** short, tight black dress with spaghetti straps and a frilly trim. There was another long, sleeveless, white one in her closet with a small trail.

"Why don't you just wear that one?" I pointed to the white dress.

"It's three sizes too small! You did that on purpose!" She grumbled. I rolled my eyes and turned back to 'Lina. She was pulling a plain white v-neck dress with turquoise trim out of her room across the hall. Connecticut and I both looked up at the dress, at each other, then back to the dress.

"Dibs!" We both yelled.

"I already called it." She said smugly.

"Come on! We should change and go see the boys!" I squealed, all of a sudden excited about this party.

"One boy in particular?" Carolina teased.

"Shut it." I grabbed my dress and ran in to the bathroom again to change. In a second, we were all done and ready to go. Of course, Carolina also had to get shoes for us. For me, she chose **5 inch** white platform heels!

_My feet are going to __**die**__._

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><p>We walked to the boys room with much difficulty, and they were already ready. Wash, Maine, and York were in new, undecorated military dress clothes<p>

"What's with the heels?"

"Carolina."

"And the yellow hair...?"

"I thought you guys did it."

"No, we didn't… anyway, why did you come to our room earlier in-"

"Drop the subject."

"Deal." He held out his arm for me to take, and the other boys did the same to Connie and 'Lina. We took them gratefully, considering that 5 freaking inch high heels were not very easy to walk in. After about five more minutes walking in my stupid white heels, I finally took them off and chucked them on the floor. Maine bent over and picked them up for me.

"You have to wear you shoes, Missy…."

"No."

"Come on…."

"Fine. I'll wear the goddamn heels." I muttered and snatched the out of his hand.

After a few minutes of grumbling about my feet, Maine got pretty annoyed.

"Goddamnit Mississippi! Stop your bitching and come here!"

"Huh?" I barely had time to respond as he literally swept me off my feet and carried me bridal style.

"Maine! Put me the fuck down **right now**!" I punched him as hard as I could, but he just laughed.

"Language, Missy. **Language**."

"Oh, up yours! And let me down."

"Nah, I like this way better. Oh, and guess what?" He grinned down at me.

"What…?" I asked hesitantly.

"We spiked the eggnog!" He whispered in to my ear.

"You did **WHAT?**" I shrieked.

"**YOU SPIKED THE FUCKING EGGNOG! **Guys! You could get in big trouble for this!"

"Not if the Director gets drunk as well…" York said slyly from behind Maine and I.

"Drunk Director… huh. I would actually like to see that!" I exclaimed, imagining what that could bring.

"See? It's a great idea!"

"Okay, now I never say that!"

"It's an… amusing idea….?

"Right."

"Who's idea was that, anyway?" Connecticut interrupted.

The boys all looked at each other, then pointed to York.

"Why?" I questioned York.

"And, "Drunk Director" is not an acceptable answer.

""What can I say? I've had my fair share of parties, and they're all better with some kind of alcohol. I talked to the Councilor and all they have is champagne."

I rolled my eyes at his reply and made another failed attempt at getting out of Maine's arms. We passed by North and South, the former trying to give directions, and the latter acting like a complete brat.

"Hi guys." North said pleasantly.

"Come on North! We're gonna be late!" South grabbed his arm and brushed past us quickly.

"Wow, what a bitch." Carolina said in surprise.

"Don't pay attention to her! We should probably get moving too if we want to be on time. And seriously Maine, let me down."

"Okay, I've had my fun, I guess. Just stop complaining about your fucking shoes." He lowered me to the ground and I dusted off my dress and yanked it up further on my body. Like I said before: **Way too low cut**.

"Hey, do we even know where this stupid party is?" Connie put in slightly cynically.

"Yeah… not really." Wash turned to her and grinned sheepishly.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah, we're just sort of winging it…."

"You guys are so fucking dumb."

"No we aren't, see! We're here!" Maine chimed in and pointed to the training floor, which had been converted to a christmas party, tree and all. Most of the staff was already there, and it some were even ballroom dancing.

_Now I see why the boys spiked the eggnog, because this is one boring party. _I thought dully and went to get a drink. Before I could take a sip, Maine swiped it out of my hand and placed it on a nearby table.

"Not quite, Miss. Care to dance?" He held out his hand for me to take.

I frowned.

"No, I would **care** to have some eggnog." I snapped at him.

"Besides, I don't dance."

"Me neither." He laughed and dragged me in to the crowd. I resisted at first, and after ten minutes of clumsily tripping over each other's feet, he also decided that we should just watch. I walked around and found that some were getting a bit drunk already. I began to wander, an ran in to South, who was giggling tipsily and desperately flirting with a staff member. She turned around, gave me a dirty look, and shoved me to the ground. I blinked in surprise from my seat on the concrete floor.

"Watch where you're going, bitch!" She snarled.

"Oh, I'm the bitch? You need-"

"Wait!" North intervened and ran up to us. He helped me up in embarrassment.

"Sorry about South. She gets like this when she drinks. But how did she get…?

"York spiked the eggnog." I interrupted quickly.

"Ah. Well If you'll excuse us…." He pulled South outside the door with a displeased expression on his face. After a couple of minutes, I decided to go get my well deserved eggnog. I picked up a glass and sipped on it.

_Wow. That's strong. But __**good **__too!_

* * *

><p>I quickly drank my glass and got another one, then another, and another. Soon enough, I was only half aware of everything going on around me. Wash was trying to hit on Connie, who was trying to strangle him with York's shirt. York was standing shirtless with a tie wrapped around his head and his arm around North, who was wearing Wash's shirt and holding a candy cane. Both of their faces were flushed red.<p>

"Hey York." North slurred.

"Is that your shirt that CT is strangling Wash with?"

"Yup. Traded it for a tie."

"Why is Wash shirtless too?

"You traded your shirt for a candy cane and stole his jacket.

"Maybe we should lay off the eggnog next year."

"Never."

I laughed drunkenly at their exchange and turned around awkwardly in my chair to see Colorado cowering in the corner trying to get away from completely hammered staff members who had apparently gotten mad at him.

"Damnit! AM I REALLY THE ONLY ONE WHO ISN'T COMPLETELY DRUNK!"

I staggered out of my seat, only to fall in to none other than, the Director. He was too wasted to be completely furious, but he looked pretty mad. I giggled.

"Are you okay, sir?" I squeaked.

"Ugh. I suppose this was your doing." He groaned exasperatedly.

"No sir!" I jokingly saluted and gave him a lopsided grin. He just looked threateningly at me and I laughed again.

"Okay, good luck sir!" I picked myself up, stumbled to the refreshments table, and ran headlong in to Maine.

"Nice running in to you, Missy!" He chuckled, also looking pretty drunk.

"Hi Maine!"

"Wanna dance?"

"Sure!"

The party had fallen in to complete chaos without any fully conscious figures of authority to supervise us. We were going to be in big trouble the next day. Once we got to the dance floor, I began to sway, and my vision became blurry.

"Hey, Maine…?

"Yeah Miss?"

"Catch… me if… I…" I trailed off, my head swimming. My vision blurred more and more until it was nothing but darkness.

**Wow. I really apologize for the OOCness. I'll try to do better this time, but besides that, I hope you like the chapter! (Though personally I hate it.) **

**Oh, and here's Mississippi's dress: black_with_white_bow_bow_tie_**

**And her shoes: **

**I'm getting faster at my updates! For this story, at least... ^^'**

**Agent Mississippi out.**


	4. Experiments and hangovers

**Hey everyone! Enjoy this update, because I'm probably going to focus more on my other stories… ^^'**

**Sorry for the long wait, but here it is now!**

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><p>I awoke with a start, wrapped in a tangle of blankets and laying in an unfamiliar bed. I blinked to clear my eyes of sleep. York walked past me holding a cup of coffee in one hand and clutching his head in the other.<p>

"Hey, you two are finally up!" York said enthusiastically but softly, his voice a bit hoarse. I looked at him cluelessly.

"Two?" I croaked. He gestured to a muscular and fairly tall figure, who was halfway off of the bed, and appearing to be in-between consciousness and unconsciousness. Only his messy blonde hair and tanned face was visible from my angle, but I still knew who it was.

_Maine._

"Well he's not actually awake yet…." He clarified.

I was still quite confused, so I turned back to York and began to ask my questions.

"Where am I, what's going on, and why in _hell_ am I sharing a bed with Maine?" I questioned quickly and frantically and sat up quickly, immediately regretting the action and suddenly noticing that I had a pounding migraine headache.

"Woah, easy! Easy! Calm down. Wash carried you back to his bed when you passed out. You got quite a bump on your head when you fell! And I'm fairly sure your hangover isn't doing wonders for said bump."

"What…? What is going on around here!" I asked quietly but forcefully, holding my head as we spoke.

"I'm not quite sure, but something about the eggnog getting spiked and everyone getting drunk…."

I glared from my position on the bed.

"I remember that part, jackass." I snapped insolently.

"I mean _after_ that."

"Yeah, I can't really remember back that far. You should ask Wash. He's the only one who's not drunk or hungover."

"He was never drunk?"

"Nah. Something about how he didn't want to get in trouble with the director. I agree, of course, but I couldn't help but try some."

"You do realize that _you_ were the one who spiked the eggnog, right?"

"Uh…. Yeah." He muttered sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"But Maine agreed!" He pointed out loudly, then winced and clutched his aching head again. The noise also caused me to grimace, and Maine stirred once again. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he drowsily pulled himself up on to the bed, his eyes still closed. He moaned, mumbling something about his head, and blinked his eyes. He dropped his head back on to the pile of blankets and pulled what he thought was his pillow-that was actually my arm-to his… err, _bare_ chest.

_"Jesus. What is with Maine and no shirt! It's getting to be kind if a distraction…." _I stared at him with gaping eyes. Or more specifically, one part of him.

It only took Maine a couple of seconds before he realized that the thing that he was clinging to was not a pillow.

"Damnit Missy!" He yelped.

"What the fuck are you doing in my bed?"

"_Your bed_? This is Wash's bed. You're just as much of an intruder."

"Yeah… the fact that it's Wash's bed doesn't really put me at ease…. Owww!" He finally woke up enough to realize that he had a pounding headache and groaned.

"Can it, jackass." I rolled my eyes and tried to make a crack about his immaturity, when a loud voice sounded throughout the room.

_"All Freelancer personnel please report to the bridge."_

"FILSS?"

_"Hello agent Mississippi. Is there anything you need?"_ The AI asked in her familiar robotic voice.

"No, FILSS. I just didn't recognize you for a second there."

_"I am detecting a large quantity of alcohol in your bloodstream. That is probably the reason why. Also, are you aware that that is violating multiple protocols that are mandatory to be kept?"_

"Oh, pick on someone else, will you?" I sighed and rose out of the bed. I looked down at myself and realized I had somehow acquired Maine's white button up dress shirt and… sweat pants? Now how did that even happen?

"One of you two has a lot of explaining to do." I said venomously, indicated to my unknown change of clothing.

"Well don't look at me! I'd be the one taking stuff off! Not putting it on!" Maine stuttered as he squirmed under my firm gaze.

"Exactly. I'm not so much worried about the fact that I'm wearing different clothes. Someone had to take them off first." I looked at him suspiciously before adding:

"Also I'm wearing your shirt."

"Oh. Well I still didn't do anything! You should ask Wash! I think he was the only one who-"

"Didn't get drunk. I know." I concluded.

"Okay guys, let's go up to the bridge before the Director gets too pissed!" York waved us to the door.

"Can't we get dressed first?" I exclaimed and Maine nodded in agreement.

"No time!"

* * *

><p>We jumped out of bed as fast as our hangovers allowed us to and made our way to the bridge. Once we got there, I found that we were definitely not the most miserable freelancers on <em>The Mother of Invention<em>. South, who looked by far in the worst shape, was curled up in a ball by the rail and clutching her head tightly. North looked bleary eyed and winced occasionally when he moved too suddenly or glanced at a bright light, but he wasn't as bad as South. Connecticut just looked miserable. Wash and Carolina looked pretty good, but Carolina looked so pissed off, I bet she would bite someone's head off if they so much as looked at her the wrong way.

"Recruits!" The director shouted with the Councilor at his side.

"The purpose of this party was to get acquainted, _not_ to get drunk! One of you has a lot of explaining to do. I have already warned you all that this is behavior is inexcusable! You will all be put in to further extensive training than I originally planned for disciplinary reasons. Any further misbehavior out of any of you," Again, he looked at me, expecting me to do or say something insubordinate.

"And I promise that you will _never_ get an opportunity as important as this for the rest of your lives. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" We all saluted. I wasn't fazed by his comments on our unruly behavior, but all of the other freelancers seemed very shaken up. Wash's childlike eyes were wide with fear, Maine was cracking his knuckles nervously, Connecticut was just furious, and Carolina seemed… different. Her eyes were dull and her posture was slumped, and she refused to be close to any of the others with the exception of York. I had a feeling that she was angry at us for getting everyone in trouble. I turned to leave with the rest of the freelancers, but a cold hand was placed on my shoulder and I froze with fear.

"Agent Mississippi, please remain at the bridge until I dismiss you."

"Y-yes, s-sir…" I stuttered nervously, petrified of what he was going to me.

"Agent Mississippi, I am sure you realize that your actions have led me not to trust you," I nodded when he waited for me to confirm this.

"It is for this reason that I am entrusting you with a… _special_ experiment. Here at project Freelancer we will be running AI implantation tests, and I need you to test a different kind of AI while we are waiting for the others to arrive."

"So, you want me to be your guinea pig for what sounds like a very controversial and dangerous mission? I'll do it," I confirmed and nodded.

"Really? Just like that?" He raised an eyebrow at my quick agreement.

"Well do I have a choice…?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"No, not really."

"Alright Agent Mississippi," the councilor interjected impatiently.

"Come back here at 1800 hours in your armor and we will begin the implantation process."

"Yes sir!" I saluted once more and turned to walk away.

"Oh, and one more thing," The director began, and I turned around.

"You will not mention any of what I just told you to _anyone_, or I will be forced to-"

"Remove me from the program…. Yeah, I've heard this one before." I finished.

"No, You will be detained here." My eyes went wide.

"You… you can do that?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," He answered eerily.

"I'm just gonna take that as a yes…" I mumbled as I walked towards my I arrived, Connecticut had fallen asleep in her dress. I crept quietly across the room to wash the remnants of my hangover away with a nice cold shower. When I had finished, I expected to see my sky blue hair in the small mirror, but it was only a dull blonde color. I sighed, wrapped the fuzzy towel around my wet body, and stepped out of the shower.

What I saw was a surprise to all three people in my room. Wash had come into our room, CT had woken up, and he talked to her while she laid on her bed lazily with an arm on her forehead. When I opened the door, two pairs of surprised eyes turned in her direction. Wash turned around immediately and started shouting.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come in while you were taking a shower! I had no idea you were in there! Augh, I'm so sorry! I… I…."

"Wash, just stop talking and get out," I sighed.

"Okay! Sorry!" He shouted from down the hall one last time before running back to the boys' rooms.

As soon as he was gone Connecticut glared at me.

"What the fuck did I do? I wasn't wearing any clothing?" I huffed and tore my armor and black under armor out of my closet and went to go change in the bathroom. I spent my time before the implantation process looking through my only possessions from before project freelancer. I had an elastic band that I'd had since I was little and I had found it in the street, a couple of badges from the military, a cameo hat with the letters "UNSC" monogrammed on to the front of it, and I had an old leather journal that I kept while in the unexplored regions of Arcadia. Once I had found it, I spent the next couple of hours laying on my bed and leafing through pages upon pages of crude handwriting and improper grammar. I hadn't known how to spell most words back then, due to my lack of education, so it was very difficult to read some of the pages. Whenever I came across a page with no mistakes, I would mentally praise my younger self. Before I knew it, it was time for the director's creepy little experiments, and I found that I was nervous, so I took my little book with me to the bridge. The director held in his hand a small chip with a hole in the center, and in that hole, there was a blood red figure floating in the gap. Her short red hair was splayed out in all directions as if her head was on a pillow, and not suspended in the air, and her holographic hands were neatly folded over her stomach. I took a second to marvel at her intricate designs before the director led me to a strange machine. He inserted the artificial girl into the machine, and it slowly extended a claw like metal appendage towards the back of my head, and inserted the red AI into my helmet. I widened my eyes as the girl's memories came flooding into my brain, and I let out a scream.

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><p><strong>Ah, I love cliffhangers :D<strong>

**I promise I will explain next chapter… Review with any questions or anything like that**


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